Class of 2021 receives welcome at Convocation

President James Herbert addresses the 吃瓜爆料 Class of 2021 at the Convocation ceremony.
President James Herbert addresses the 吃瓜爆料 Class of 2021 at the Convocation ceremony.

On August 29, 2017, President James Herbert welcomed the 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Class of 2021 at the annual Convocation ceremony. The class is the most geographically diverse undergraduate class to date, with students hailing from 33 states.

This year鈥檚 convocation was the first to be led by Herbert, who assumed the presidency on July 1, and he described the 鈥渟pecial connection鈥 that he feels to the incoming class. 鈥淚n a sense, today鈥檚 ceremony serves as my Convocation, too,鈥 he said to the first-year students. 鈥淚 have enjoyed a two-month head-start on you, but 鈥 like you 鈥 I鈥檓 still figuring out all that it means to be a part of this amazing university. I鈥檓 still waking up each day to discover yet another little surprise about our community or campuses that reaffirms my decision to come here.鈥

Herbert urged the freshman class to strike a healthy balance between work and play in order to reap the full benefits of their 吃瓜爆料 education while making the most of their time on the beautiful Maine coast. He advised the first-years to take their roles as students seriously and to be passionate about lifelong learning while also being resilient in the face of defeat; and finally, he encouraged them to value collaboration with other people, even when, and, in fact, especially when, those people hold viewpoints different from their own. 鈥淕o out of your way to seek out perspectives that differ from those you hold today,鈥 he said. 鈥淚n this process, seek to find productive ways to work with others so that your goals and theirs converge, become more ambitious, and, at the same time, become more achievable.鈥

 

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions